i was looking for the scripture about who will inherit god's kingdom and can't find it because i packed up all my books and stored them.
is there mention of gluttony being one of the things that will keep you out?
proverbs 23:20 says a drunkard and a glutton will come to proverty.. proverbs 28:7 says one having companionship with a flutton humiliates his father.. so if i can't take blood transfusions, be a drunkard, lie with same sex people, etc.
You can't be friends with gluttons either? My friendship ranks would dwindle fast if I practiced that. Where would Weight Watchers be? I thought it was a person's heart, not their belly that determined if we should be friends, or did I misunderstand that?
celebrate
the past couple years of 'drifting away' have been a real revelation.
it has been a difficult adjustment.
so many standards i. once sacrificed for are now without meaning.
Billygoat and Metratron - you are both to be congratulated on your journey, and your courage and compassion. For as trite as it sounds I read once people are like tea bags, you never know how strong you are till you are in hot water. You two have shown that in adversity, you have seen what you are truly made of and what is truly important.
For me, as I am still very new here and I can only speak for me, I have found much love and caring from those outside of the KH. I found much abuse in the name of love from those inside. The JWs quoted scripture to tell me I was worthless, and of course, said it was done because they loved me and wanted me to be a better person.
Again, congratulations on finding out what love is all about.
celebrate
in the "christmas" thread, aroarer asked this:.
: ...have researched christmas in a new way and have come to realize it is not as evil as wt teaches.
the real ugliness is the wt.
Joseph Joachim -- you have not felt a happiness like that since you left being JW -- a happiness that your friends would be destroyed at Armaggedon?!?
If you have not felt that kind of happiness, you need to look around! There is much out there to be happy about and to be happy for. If you can't see it, as you say, it is up to you!
As for me, my father was as described. No gifts, no birthday, no joy. Since leaving the religion, I have found great happiness, lots of worldy friends, travel to all parts of the world (many Witnesses won't go because the world is so evil), incredible sensuality, and sexiness, and far greater peace with myself and God. I take no joy in the thought of another's death just because they do not agree with me.
i found my journal from high school.
here i will share some of my crazy youth.... minus a bunch of the crushes and crap.
ill just focus on the jw stuff.
Lisa!
Straight skirts -- now that is a blast from the past! Sorry to hear your life was so depressing. Glad you have found your own way.
Thanks for memories!
celebrate
is the wtbts qualified to run your life for you?
lets take a look.. i was just musing over the threads that relate to disciplining children by means of physical punishment.
there is plenty of material in the societies magazines that advocate hitting children, in the 60s publications there is even a picture of a man spanking a child.
Englishman: After years of being a JW and leaving and listening to people talk about religion, I have come to a conclusion for my life that no words, no teaching, no preachers ever supercede my responsibility to act with intelligence and dignity. There are simply no excuses. If I listen to someone who tells me scripture says I have to bow to a man because he is my husband, and I allow this man to mistreat me, I am at fault. To bow before scripture in the face of something that is wrong or that robs me or my child of dignity, for me, is wrong. Scripture is not an excuse for brains, common sense, common decency or the responsibility to act.
Unfortunately, such independent thinking does not make many friends! Thank you for your thred, it makes me feel much better!
celebrate
i cannot forget this little girl.. ezekiel 34:12 this is what the sovereign lord says: i am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock.
i will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves.
i will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them".
Bridgette is absolutely right on this one. As a silent lamb who was often badly beaten, I can tell you that as a child you believe the problem is you! You are told the problem is you. Scripture is quoted to prove it is you! This story also has touched me deeply, I still find myself crying and wondering what I can do to help others.
As for The Wiz, yes, all of those things happen, but again, while I was being sexually abused by one witness and the other witness was ignoring it, I was being told the devil was in the Catholic church, I was being told only witnesses would be with God, that witnesses did not vote because other should take care of them -- after all they were the chosen! If you are going to talk the talk, you should also walk the walk. If you are no better than anyone else, you do not have the right to condem them. No Catholic pinned me down, rubbed his penis one me telling me how he wanted to get me pregnant, while I pleaded with him not to do this, just my jehovah witness father. A pervert is a pervert.
celebrate
i just read the tragic story of the man in chicago who beat his daughter to death.
i have read stories here and on silentlambs about sexual abuse.. my question is: how much fault can be placed on the religion and how much on the perversions of a particular individual?
i frankly don't know the answer to this question.
Larc:
I have been wondering this same thing as well. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Is it the religion that makes people do these things, or does the religion attract a certain type of person who then ends up doing these things? As a silent lamb, and a person who was also verbally, physically and emotionally abused by JWs, I think it is both. There is something to be said for the type of personality that is attracted to a religion that is that rigid, that drains all of the fun from things, that sets them up as being the "chosen" and all others are wrong, and anyone or anything that might be against them as being from the devil. Think about it, this whole religion is built around the world ending, and they being the only ones around. That takes a certain personality to want that and then to believe it.
From that place, it is hard to live life. The more rigid the rules, the more acts of brutality. And, as children are about the only ones who are less powerful, a lot of the brutality is against children and women -- anyone too powerless to fight back.
Obviously the religion fulfills some need, my guess is a need for power that people don't feel they have. People who feel powerless, will take it out on those who have less power.
Man shall be called to account for every permitted pleasure he failed to enjoy -- The Talmud.
to the people who read this:.
my friend told me to come to this forum and go into the chat room.
when i went into the chat room and mentioned her, some of you knew who she was.
Welcome Kitty: I am also fairly new here. I have found this to be a very dynamic web site, with a wide view of opinions and some very good dialogue. There is no reason to "fear" the internet and here you will find creative, challenging discussion that will help you as you make decisions about your life.
Welcome
celebrate life!
i know that we hear a lot about disfellowshipping - but how many families were shown simliar treatment by their relatives when they became witnesses?.
while we still had contact with my parents' families, there was definetely a line drawn.
i remember one time when i was about eight i called my aunt's house.
I am sorry you got treated so poorly, family is supposed to mean something and it is really sad when it lets you down.
I don't know your situation, but in mine, the JW's felt the need to preach and constantly share information about their religion to the point that I did not want to be around them. A very favorite uncle of mine did this and eventually, I just could not talk to him.
My question is how did your famly act when around other non-witness family members? How many family gatherings did your family invite other family members to? Again, none of this makes the action of the others right, but most of these things are two way streets.
celebrate life
hello folks,.
please dissect this one for me.. *** w97 5/1 29 questions from readers ***.
questions from readers.
When I was active, I was told that the generation that saw WWI would not pass away before the time of the end, and quickly pointed out how many of them were dying everyday. Also, this was used to confirm the date of 1975 as the end because it fit.
When that number got very limited, the time was moved again, and again, and again!
celebrate
